First Trust Advisors LP Has $718,000 Position in Wingstop Inc. $WING

First Trust Advisors LP cut its holdings in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 94.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,633 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 75,059 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Wingstop were worth $718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Wingstop in the 1st quarter valued at about $256,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Wingstop by 2,770.6% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,952 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $440,000 after acquiring an additional 1,884 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Wingstop by 5.6% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 92,439 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $20,852,000 after acquiring an additional 4,937 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Wingstop by 121.4% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 217 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Wingstop by 45.5% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $467,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares in the last quarter.

Wingstop Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WING opened at $111.36 on Wednesday. Wingstop Inc. has a 52-week low of $110.44 and a 52-week high of $345.81. The company has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.04.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $185.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $190.25 million. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 16.31% and a net margin of 16.15%.Wingstop’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Wingstop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on WING. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Wingstop from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $290.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Wingstop from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Wingstop in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Wingstop from $255.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $173.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wingstop presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $241.81.

About Wingstop

Wingstop Inc (NASDAQ: WING) is a fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in chicken wings and related menu items. Founded in 1994 in Garland, Texas, the company has built its brand around bold, chef-inspired wing flavors and a streamlined service model that caters to dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering orders.

The company’s core offerings include both bone-in and boneless chicken wings tossed in a variety of proprietary rubs and sauces, such as Original Hot, Lemon Pepper, and Mango Habanero.